From sub-tropic to tropical waters

After 26 days at sea and with more than 3700 nautical miles sailing we have according to climate zone definitions left the sub-tropic region in the south and entered the tropical waters off Mozambique. However, we have not observed any marked difference in the weather, catch composition of fish and invertebrates in the trawl, or in the oceanographic conditions between the climate zones.

Published: 24.10.2007
- Updated: 11.03.2009

zones.

Altimetry data courtesy of “CNES/CLS”.

During this survey, vertical profiling involves temperature, salinity, oxygen and florescence along sections. The principal sections occupied by the vessel are shown in the animation. The acoustic current profiler is employed to measure currents continuously along the survey track. Operational near-real time remotely sensed altimetric data are received onboard, helping to concentrate sampling effort in regions of enhanced eddy variability. The figure below shows a sample fluorescence section from the ongoing investigation, which gives a hint on distribution of primary production across the Sofala Bank.

Vertical profile of florescence, Sofala bank.

To further improve the understanding of the current system in the region, two drifter buoys that measure the platform position, sea surface temperature and barometric pressure are deployed from "Dr Fridtjof Nansen". The buoy is designed to collect data for minimum one year, which will be analyzed by the Centre de Meterorologie Marine in Franch.

On the 25th October "Dr Fridtjof Nansen" will call Beira where the Mozambiquan scientists are replaced. We all look forward to a short rest in Beira before we are heading north to survey the northern region off Mozambique.